THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

something terrifying.”
    Riley nodded. “I know. I’m surprised, too.”
    “Nothing surprises me anymore,” Chief Phipps said as he watched his men approach the front door. One peeled away and went around back. Chief Phipps stayed in the car, but he had one hand on the door handle.
    An officer rapped on the front door with the end of his flashlight.
    No answer.
    A neighbor wearing a bathrobe stepped out onto her porch and leaned over the railing to see what was going on.
    The chief opened the car door. “Wait here.” He grabbed his hat from the dashboard, then walked toward the woman.
     
    “Excuse me. Ma’am?” Chief Phipps said.
    The woman on the porch spun around, clutching her chest. “Lord, son. You could scare an old woman to death.”
    He smiled. Serves her right, being nosy like that. “Sorry about that. I’m Chief Phipps.”
    “My goodness.” She tugged her robe tighter, then ran her hand through her hair, fluffing it. “I voted for you in the last election. Ex-military man and all. I knew you’d keep us safe. What’s going on over at Libby’s place?”
    “You know the woman that lives in that house?”
    “Yes. Libby Braddock. Dear woman. Nothing has happened to her, has it?”
    “No, nothing like that.”
    “Thank goodness. Widowed and all. That would be terrible.”
    “Has she been here today?”
    “Yes. She’s not there now. She just left about an hour ago. Seemed in a hurry. Her and her nephew. She said it was some kind of family emergency.”
    “I didn’t catch your name, ma’am,” Phipps said.
    “Doris Moon. Call me Doris, please.”
    “Thanks, Doris. Her nephew? How old is he?” Phipps pulled a notepad from his pocket.
    The old woman shrugged. “Four, I think.”
    “Do you know his name?”
    “Of course. I babysit when she has doctor appointments and such. That little Jake is the sweetest child.”
    Phipps scribbled JAKE across the page. “Know where they were going?”
    “No. She asked me to pick up her mail and paper. Said she’d be back in a couple weeks.” The old woman studied him. “She was in a hurry. I didn’t want to pry,” she explained.
    Probably a first.
    “I understand. Does she hold a job?” Phipps asked.
    “No. I don’t like to talk about people, but I think she’s on some kind of disability. I’ve noticed her checks when I get the mail sometimes.”
    Phipps laughed to himself. This nosy neighbor was probably the queen of gossip. “The child. You said Jake, right?”
    She nodded.
    “Is he in good health?”
    “He’s fine. So many questions. Are you sure something hasn’t happened to them?”
    “Just following some leads, ma’am.” She didn’t look convinced, but he had a few more questions, and she seemed to have a lot of answers. “How long has the boy been staying with her? Do you remember when she first brought him here?”
    “No.” She shook her head, and then her eyes lit up. “Yes I do. It was right around Sally Mae’s birthday. We met at Shoney’s for lunch. That was...well, wait.” She held up her finger and headed to the door. The screen door slammed behind her. “I have it on my calendar.”
    She stopped and opened the door. “Come on in.”
    He followed her inside. She waddled into the kitchen and took a calendar down from the tack on the wall. “Can I get you some lemonade? Coffee?”
    “Nothing, thank you.”
    “Oh. Here it is.” She folded the calendar back and laid it on the table. “Yes...that would have been September seventh.” She ran a finger around the entry on the calendar. “See.”
    “Yes. Thank you.” He jotted down the information. “Why is he staying with her? Did she say?”
    “Awful custody battle. Her poor brother. Divorce is tough on a man with children, you know.” She reshuffled the calendar and tacked it back on the wall. “He travels a lot, and the mother is just an awful person. She left him. No warning.”
    “Thank you.” Phipps turned to the door. “I’ll just let myself out.”
    When the chief walked out of the neighbor’s house he gave Von a nod, and Von met him in the street. They walked, talking as they joined the other officers in front of the house.
    Kasey and Riley clung to one another.
     
    A moment later, Von jogged back to the car.
    “Well?” Kasey asked.
    Von leaned into the open passenger door.
    Riley scooted to the edge of the bench seat. “What’s going on?”
    Von blew out a breath. “She’s not here. They left about an hour ago. The neighbor